Mormonism increasingly draws Spanish-speakers as converts

Arizona Daily Star ^ | March 8, 2008 | Stephanie Innes

[Zakeet]

Spanish-speakers are fueling growth in the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which recently opened new worship space on Tucson's predominantly Hispanic South Side.

Many local Mormon worshippers, like 47-year-old Juan Arroyo, converted to the faith from Catholicism while living in their native countries. Arroyo, a roofer who has four children, joined the church when he lived in Guadalajara, Mexico. He's been in the United States for seven years.

"I was missing something, and my life changed greatly after meeting the missionaries," he said in Spanish.

Nationally, the number of Spanish-speaking congregations in the Mormon church grew by 64 percent between 2000 and 2006. There are 639 such congregations in the United States.

[Snip]

The church is growing quickly in Mexico.

Church officials say its presence there began in 1875 when Brigham Young, then denomination president, called on six missionaries from Salt Lake City to bring Spanish-language materials about the church to Mexico. In 1885, a group of nearly 400 colonists from Utah arrived at northern Mexico's Casas Grandes River. Mexico's first stake was created in Colonia Juárez in 1895. By 1912, more than 4,000 members had settled in Chihuahua and Sonora.

More than 1 million members now live in Mexico, a predominantly Catholic country with a population of about 108 million.

[Zakeet]

Erik Quezada, 12, reads a booklet written in Spanish during a youth group meeting at the Los Reales Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[Tennessee Nana]

BTTT

[wintertime]

The church is growing quickly in Mexico.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

They are now about 1% of the population, 1 in 108. This can only be good for Mexico.

Mexico could use Mormon values: Strong families, dedication to one’s spouse and children, hard work, appreciation for education and the arts, and HONESTY in all of one’s affairs.

It will be good for the U.S. too.

[SkyPilot]

Mark Chapter 4:

1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." 9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that, " 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"

13Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

[ARE SOLE]

Could this be why Sen. Orrin Hatch keeps pushing the illegal coddling “Dream Act”?

[Kolokotronis]

Wasn’t George Romney born down in Mexico to American Mormon parents?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Arroyo, a roofer who has four children, joined the church when he lived in Guadalajara, Mexico....

“I was missing something, and my life changed greatly after meeting the missionaries,” he said in Spanish. ****

Found out about their welfare program didn’t you. I have known a few others who joined for that purpose.

[Zakeet]

Mexico could use Mormon values: Strong families, dedication to one’s spouse and children, hard work, appreciation for education and the arts, and HONESTY in all of one’s affairs.

Are these not Catholic values?

Are you suggesting Hispanics tend to come from broken homes, are unfaithful to their families, are lazy, fail to recognize the value of learning, and are dishonest?

Do you always deal in stereotypes?

[Zakeet]

Wasn’t George Romney born down in Mexico to American Mormon parents?

Yes. George Romney, Mitt's father, was born in Northern Mexico.

The Romney family migrated to Mexico in the 1880's (I believe) to practice polygamy after the U.S. began to crack down on the practice. They founded a group known as the Romneyites.

IIRC, George's father left the cult but chose to remain in Mexico. George emigrated to the United States where he joined the Utah LDS church and had a distinguished career in business and as governor of Michigan.

George made a run for the presidency and the question arose concerning whether he was qualified to assume the office since he was not born in the US. George's campaign never took off, and the matter became moot.

[fproy2222]

If this thread is like most others that have anything to do with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or as we are more often called, the Mormons, it will soon be taken over by those who, for reasons of their own, choose to put down my Church, and those of us who worship with it.

We find no problem with people who really want to talk to us about converting to their religion, we spend a lot of time doing it ourselves.

What we find offensive is when people leave out part of the truth to make a half-true lie , or when some one renames something, that we find important or sacred, so it sounds like gutter talk.

[Kolokotronis]

“George made a run for the presidency and the question arose concerning whether he was qualified to assume the office since he was not born in the US. George’s campaign never took off, and the matter became moot.”

I heard him give a speech in NH during the campaign in 1968. He was a good speaker. I don’t remember anyone talking about him being a Mormon.

[Zakeet]

What we find offensive is when people leave out part of the truth to make a half-true lie , or when some one renames something, that we find important or sacred, so it sounds like gutter talk.

Fred,

Would you please provide me with as many examples as possible of instances where I personally lied, renamed something, or engaged in "gutter talk?"

I would like to learn from my mistakes, and then issue the appropriate apologies and retractions.

Thanks.

/Zak

[Salvation]

I’ll keep praying for their return. Always pray when I go past the evangelical church too.

[wintertime]

Are you suggesting Hispanics tend to come from broken homes, are unfaithful to their families, are lazy, fail to recognize the value of learning, and are dishonest?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

If Catholics would get back to teaching the Catechism ( as it was taught to me in St. Joan of Arc in the 50s), they too would be enjoying the same conversion success as the Mormons.

The Catholics have the truth. They should get back to teaching it. Mexico would be stronger. The U.S. would be stronger. The whole world would benefit.

Catholics should teach the pure Catechism.

If Catholics would return to the Catechism, if they did this, the whole world would enjoy fewer broken homes, more parents would be faithful to their families, more people would give a full and honest day's work and would receive and honest day's pay in return, learning would be valued, and the world would enjoy more honesty, and all would enjoy more prosperity.

The Pope “gets it”! He really is Christ's truth. He teaches the pure Catechism. He is doing all he can to get his sheep to follow in the path of righteousness.

[SeaHawkFan]

Mexico could use Mormon values: Strong families, dedication to one’s spouse and children, hard work, appreciation for education and the arts, and HONESTY in all of one’s affairs.

Are you unaware that Utah leads the nation in financial fraud?

I used to have an insurance restoration business. Aside from attorneys, Mormons were the worst customers. I was wonderful until the Monday after they had a loss; after they talked to their friends at church. From then on, every one of them tried to screw me over any way they could. Got to the point where when they unilaterally cancelled the contract by telling me to leave the job site, I kept my mouth shut. Not one of them ever heard of expectency in contract law. Every one of them learned an expensive lesson; some of which were very expensive.

A month or so later, I would have them served with a lawsuit for damages in the amount of the expected GROSS PROFIT; not the anticipated net profit. It usually amounted to 35-40% of the total contract price. It got to the point that I loved it when I was kicked off a job. I had the case law down pat and even a Mormon judge didn't dare try to screw me over to help my mormon ex-customers. The law is very cut and dry. I never lost.

[wintertime]

I am sorry. I don’t know what “insurance restoration” is, however, I don’t think I ever want to be in the position to need to know.

Sounds nasty for all involved!

[exit82]

SeaHawkFan, could you expand a bit on this post? I can’t relate an “insurance restoration business” to a jobsite. It sounds like it has something to do with construction contract law, but maybe it is just a difference in terminology that I am used to vs. what you are used to.

I was intrigued by your description of what happened, but there was not enough for me to follow what you meant. I would like to know more.

Thanks.

[restornu]

They founded a group known as the Romneyites.

IIRC, George’s father left the cult but chose to remain in Mexico. George emigrated to the United States where he joined the Utah LDS church and had a distinguished career in business and as governor of Michigan.

****

This out right disinformation!

It is one thing to post your contempt but to make up stories
Is despicable!

[Zakeet]

Re. IIRC, George’s father left the cult but chose to remain in Mexico. George emigrated to the United States where he joined the Utah LDS church and had a distinguished career in business and as governor of Michigan. ... /Zakeet

****

Re. This out right disinformation! ... This person does not tell the truth nor does it seem he has any integrity to draw upon from within! ... You can not converse with someone like that and neither would the Lord bother with this type! ... /restornu

I must admit I can't imagine anything more awful than polygamy ... Mitt Romney

I can see where you might get confused if you listen solely to Mitt, but according to this story in the Deseret Morning News ...

Polygamy was prominent in Romney's family tree
His ancestry lists several men who had multiple wives

While Mitt Romney condemns polygamy and its prior practice by his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Republican presidential candidate's great-grandfather had five wives and at least one of his great-great-grandfathers had 12.

Polygamy was not just a historical footnote but a prominent element in the family tree of the former Massachusetts governor now seeking to become the first LDS president.

Romney's great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, married his fifth wife in 1897. That was more than six years after LDS church leaders banned polygamy and more than three decades after a federal law barred the practice.

[Snip]

Romney's father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, where church members fled in the 1800s to escape religious persecution and U.S. laws forbidding polygamy. He and his family did not return to the United States until 1912, more than two decades after the church issued "The Manifesto" banning polygamy.

"When you read the family's history, you realize how important polygamy was to them," said Todd Compton, a Mormon and independent historian who wrote a book about the polygamous life of the church's founder, Joseph Smith.

Last time I checked, the Deseret Morning News was owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

You can also catch a reprint of an article originally published in the Salt Lake Tribune titled Could ancestors haunt Romney? Polygamous family tree of Mitt Romney. Among other things, it points out:

Romney, of course, didn't mention that about the time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renounced polygamy in 1890, his great-grandfather was among those Mormons who fled to Mexico to start their own community where plural marriage continued to be practiced.

In light of the above, you might be better served in future posts by performing a simple Google search before accusing a person of lying and lacking integrity when they post facts which contradict your preconceived notions.